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the patchwork girl of oz-第4章

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her patched face I can whitewash it。〃







〃Has she any brains?〃 asked Ojo。







〃No; I forgot all about the brains!〃 exclaimed



the woman。 〃I am glad you reminded me of



them; for it is not too late to supply them; by



any means。 Until she is brought to life I can



do anything I please with this girl。 But I must



be careful not to give her too much brains; and



those she has must be such as are fitted to the



station she is to occupy in life。 In other words;



her brains mustn't be very good。〃







〃Wrong;〃 said Unc Nunkie。







〃No; I am sure I am right about that;〃 returned



the woman。







〃He means;〃 explained Ojo; 〃that unless your



servant has good brains she won't know how to obey



you properly; nor do the things you ask her to



do。〃







〃Well; that may be true;〃 agreed Margolotte;



〃but; on the contrary; a servant with too much



brains is sure to become independent and high…



and…mighty and feel above her work。 This is a



very delicate task; as I said; and I must take



care to give the girl just the right quantity of



the right sort of brains。 I want her to know just



enough; but not too much。〃







With this she went to another cupboard which was



filled With shelves。 All the shelves were lined



With blue glass bottles; neatly labeled by the



Magician to show what they contained。 One whole



shelf was marked: 〃Brain Furniture;〃 and the



bottles on this shelf were labeled as follows:



〃Obedience;〃 〃Cleverness;〃 〃Judgment;〃 〃Courage;〃



〃Ingenuity;〃 〃Amiability;〃 〃Learning;〃 〃Truth;〃



〃Poesy;〃 〃Self Reliance。〃







〃Let me see;〃 said Margolotte; 〃of those



qualities she must have 'Obedience' first of all;〃



and she took down the bottle bearing that label



and poured from it upon a dish several grains of



the contents。 〃'Amiability' is also good and



'Truth。'〃 She poured into the dish a quantity from



each of these bottles。 〃I think that will do;〃 she



continued; 〃for the other qualities are not needed



in a servant。〃







Unc Nunkie; who with Ojo stood beside her;



touched the bottle marked 〃Cleverness。〃







〃Little;〃 said he。







〃A little 'Cleverness'? Well; perhaps you are



right; sir;〃 said she; and was about to take down



the bottle when the Crooked Magician suddenly



called to her excitedly from the fireplace。







〃Quick; Margolotte! Come and help me。〃







She ran to her husband's side at once and



helped him lift the four kettles from the fire。



Their contents had all boiled away; leaving in



the bottom of each kettle a few grains of fine



white powder。 Very carefully the Magician removed



this powder; placing it all together in a golden



dish; where he mixed it with a golden spoon。 When



the mixture was complete there was scarcely a



handful; all told。







〃That;〃 said Dr。 Pipt; in a pleased and



triumphant tone; 〃is the wonderful Powder of Life;



which I alone in the world know how to make。 It



has taken me nearly six years to prepare these



precious grains of dust; but the little heap on



that dish is worth the price of a kingdom and many



a king would give all he has to possess it。 When



it has become cooled I will place it in a small



bottle; but meantime I must watch it carefully;



lest a gust of wind blow it away or scatter it。'







Unc Nunkie; Margolotte and the Magician



all stood looking at the marvelous Powder; but



Ojo was more interested just then in the Patchwork



Girl's brains。 Thinking it both unfair and unkind



to deprive her of any good qualities that were



handy; the boy took down every bottle on the shelf



and poured some of the contents in Margolotte's



dish。 No one saw him do this; for all were looking



at the Powder of Life; but soon the woman



remembered what she had been doing; and came back



to the cupboard。







〃Let's see;〃 she remarked; 〃I was about to give



my girl a little 'Cleverness;' which is the



Doctor's substitute for 'Intelligence'a quality



he has not yet learned how to manufacture。〃 Taking



down the bottle of 〃Cleverness〃 she added some of



the powder to the heap on the dish。 Ojo became a



bit uneasy at this; for he had already put quite



a lot of the 〃Cleverness〃 powder in the dish; but



he dared not interfere and so he comforted himself



with the thought that one cannot have too much



cleverness。







Margolotte now carried the dish of brains to



the bench。 Ripping the seam of the patch on



the girl's forehead; she placed the powder within



the head and then sewed up the seam as neatly



and securely as before。







〃My girl is all ready for your Powder of Life;



my dear;〃 she said to her husband。 But the



Magician replied:







〃This powder must not be used before tomorrow



morning; but I think it is now cool enough to be



bottled。〃







He selected a small gold bottle with a pepper…



box top; so that the powder might be sprinkled on



any object through the small holes。 Very carefully



he placed the Powder of Life in the gold bottle



and then locked it up in a drawer of his cabinet。







〃At last;〃 said he; rubbing his hands together



gleefully; 〃I have ample leisure for a good talk



with my old friend Unc Nunkie。 So let us sit



down cosily and enjoy ourselves。 After stirring



those four kettles for six years I am glad to



have a little rest。〃







〃You will have to do most of the talking;〃



said Ojo; 〃for Unc is called the Silent One and



uses few words。〃







〃I know; but that renders your uncle a



most agreeable companion and gossip;〃 declared



Dr。 Pipt。 〃Most people talk too much; so it is



a relief to find one who talks too little。〃







Ojo looked at the Magician with much awe



and curiosity。







〃Don't you find it very annoying to be so



crooked?〃 he asked。







〃No; I am quite proud of my person;〃 was



the reply。 〃I suppose I am the only Crooked



Magician in all the world。 Some others are accused



of being crooked; but I am the only genuine。〃







He was really very crooked and Ojo wondered how



he managed to do so many things with such a



twisted body。 When he sat down upon a crooked



chair that had been made to fit him; one knee was



under his chin and the other near the small of his



back; but he was a cheerful man and his face bore



a pleasant and agreeable expression。







〃I am not allowed to perform magic; except



for my own amusement;〃 he told his visitors;



as he lighted a pipe with a crooked stem and



began to smoke。 〃Too many people were working



magic in the Land of Oz; and so our lovely



Princess Ozma put a stop to it。 I think she was



quite right。 There were several wicked Witches who



caused a lot of trouble; but now they are all out



of business and only the great Sorceress; Glinda



the Good; is permitted to practice her arts; which



never harm anybody。 The Wizard of Oz; who used to



be a humbug and knew no magic at all; has been



taking lessons of Glinda; and I'm told he is



getting to be a pretty good Wizard; but he is



merely the assistant of the great Sorceress。 I've



the right to make a servant girl for my wife; you



know; or a Glass Cat to catch our micewhich she



refuses to dobut I am forbidden to work magic for



others; or to use it as a profession。〃







〃Magic must be a very interesting study;〃



said Ojo。







〃It truly is;〃 asserted the Magician。 〃In my



time I've performed some magical feats that were



worthy of the skill of Glinda the Good。 For



instance; there's the Powder of Life; and my



Liquid of Petrifaction; which is contained in that



bottle on the shelf yonder…over the window。〃







〃What does the Liquid of Petrifaction do?〃



inquired the boy。







〃Turns everything it touches to solid marble。



It's an invention of my own; and I find it very



useful。 Once two of those dreadful Kalidahs;



with bodies like bears and heads like tigers;



came here from the forest to attack us; but I



sprinkled some of that Liquid on them and



instantly they turned to marble。 I now use them



as ornamental statuary in my garden。 This table



looks to you like wood; and once it really was



wood; but I sprinkled a few drops of the Liquid



of Petrifaction on it and now it is marble。 It



will never break nor wear out。







〃Fine!〃 said Unc Nunkie; wagging his head



and str
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